To avoid a rambling summary of the book and give you a jist of the plot, here is part of the blurb from the book jacket:
Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: If he doesn't play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone's business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he's been emailing with, will be jeopardized.
Over the past couple months, I've seen a lot of hype about this book on Twitter and Tumblr. I figured it couldn't possibly live up to it, but I decided to buy myself a copy anyways. I was wrong. It was so much better than I ever could have hoped.
I was hooked from the very first page when Simon's humor and clear, shining voice jumped out at me (and continued to do so in a pitch-perfect, consistent way throughout the entire book without ever feeling one-note or monotonous). When I got to the epistolary sections of the book, which are written through email, I was delighted. I love it when authors incorporate modern technology into their stories.
When Simon made a My Chemical Romance reference, I fell absolutely in love.
This book was fresh and lively with a killer momentum and perfect beats of humor - I involuntarily laughed out loud more than once. Even in the heavier scenes (and there are definitely heavy scenes, which are executed skillfully and beautifully), Simon's inherent personality and voice creates a certain sense of levity. Situations suck, but life isn't so bad.
Pop culture references that feel completely natural coming from Simon and the other characters were so fun to catch and didn't once feel gimmicky or trendy. Likewise, epistolary sections can feel a little overused or like a device for info dumping or speedy characterization, particularly in some YA books I've read recently. The emails between Simon and Blue were nothing of the sort. I believed every second of them: two boys trying to figure out what they think and feel through a measure of anonymity online (the emails are set up under aliases) and come to bond through that. I'm sure it's something that's happened, if not exactly in this set up, countless times. Often, it's easier to be yourself online than it is to be yourself in real life.
However, the "real life" interactions Simon has are just as well-written. All of the secondary characters felt absolutely developed to me, and the sub-stories in the novel were equally entertaining and compelling. Not once did I wish that I was with other characters or watching a different plot point unfold. I was completely invested in every scene of this novel, and I think that's because I've been or have known almost every character in this book in real life. It's incredible.
Also, the romance between Blue and Simon is so endearing. I was squirming in my seat more than once while reading this. The mystery that Albertalli creates around Blue was wonderful; I had so much fun thinking I knew exactly who Blue was, only to second guess myself and be sure that Blue is someone else just chapters later. (I guessed who Blue was relatively early on, but changed my mind multiple times since that point as the novel wore on. Part of the fun was that it really could have been anyone, and the reader can't be wholly sure any more than Simon is until Blue chooses to reveal himself).
As a writer, this book was so great to learn from. The pace was sharp from beginning to end but hit a dynamic range of emotional notes. Albertalli's skill at starting and ending scenes is breathtaking, and reading the way she develops characters and their relationships with one another made me feel like I was sixteen again in the best way possible.
Basically, this book is probably my favorite YA novel I've ever read. I hope everyone gets to experience the joy that is this novel. It was everything I never knew I wanted in a book, and I'm going to treasure it.
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